Is the Quality of Blended Coffee Stable? Which is Better: SOE or Blended Coffee?

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Baristas are accustomed to a time scale of 25 seconds or 3 minutes, hoping you'll use the minimum amount of time.

The Vast World of Coffee

The coffee world is as vast as the wine world. Different origins, estates, cultivation and processing methods, as well as roasting and blending, can all bring various flavors.

Traditional Italian Espresso Era

In the past during the Italian espresso era, Espresso was made from blends of many different regions. The blending methods were "secret recipes," so of course they wouldn't reveal which origins they came from. Even today, many coffee shops are unwilling to disclose the origins of their blend beans.

The Art of Coffee Blending

Blended coffee beans are made by mixing and combining multiple types of coffee beans. Through different proportions and the combination of coffee beans with similar or contrasting taste profiles, original single-origin coffees can develop distinctive characteristics, particularly in terms of unique flavor. Coffee bean blending is also an art form, requiring repeated experimentation and inspiration to create a good blend. Typically, these well-balanced blended coffee beans are used for making espresso, extracting rich and mellow concentrated coffee liquid through high temperature and high pressure.

Traditional Italian Blends

Traditional Italian coffee beans are made from blends of multiple coffee beans. In Italy, a bag of coffee beans can consist of several or even dozens of different varieties. Many people assume that blended coffee tastes bad, thinking it's a mixture of coffee beans of unknown origin, but the reality is that blends can also be made entirely from specialty coffee beans and can be exceptionally delicious.

The biggest advantage of using blended coffee beans is ensuring the stability of coffee flavor. When the quality of a particular coffee bean changes, or its production decreases or price increases, roasters can choose a similar coffee bean as a substitute without affecting the overall flavor. When selecting blend beans and creating blend recipes, roasters need to first determine the coffee flavors they want to present, such as acidity, sweetness, bitterness, and even expectations for the coffee's body. Most coffee shops will create their own "Signature Blend," whose flavor absolutely rivals that of single-origin coffee beans.

The Rise of Single Origin Espresso

SOE stands for Single Origin Espresso. Although it doesn't necessarily equate to specialty coffee, if you select single-origin coffee beans with easily identifiable flavors as SOE, you can create espressos with unique and typical flavors. For example, Yirgacheffe's typical citrus flavors, Kenya's fruity flavors, etc. Since espresso amplifies coffee flavors, these specific flavors become more prominent compared to pour-over. However, although SOE performs outstandingly, because it comes from a single origin, its flaws are also relatively easy to amplify. Therefore, factors like roasting and grind size can affect the flavor, so it's not necessarily better than blended coffee.

Is SOE Better Than Blended Coffee?

There are many factors that determine whether a cup of coffee is good, such as the coffee beans, roasting, coffee machine, brewing process, and personal taste preferences. SOE simply refers to espresso made with single-origin coffee beans, and the beans used are not necessarily better than those used in blended coffee. Other factors also significantly impact the coffee's quality, so we cannot make a general conclusion about which type of coffee is better!

FrontStreet Coffee uses [Colombia] and [Brazil] for blending, creating an espresso with bright but gentle fruit acidity, captivating nutty aroma in the middle, and a persistent caramel aftertaste. When milk is added, the sweetness is enhanced, giving it a somewhat cookie-like quality.

Important Notice :

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